


Reflections

by Michael_Ackart



Category: InuYasha - A Feudal Fairy Tale
Genre: Post-Series
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-11
Updated: 2018-03-11
Packaged: 2019-03-29 17:01:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 547
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13931400
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Michael_Ackart/pseuds/Michael_Ackart
Summary: An old man remembers the companions who entered his life so very long ago





	Reflections

**Author's Note:**

> Originally written for Sesshomaru Week on tumblr. Short, but I liked this enough to post it here. Follow me - **sesshaken.tumblr.com**

An old man sits by a river.

It’s taken hours to travel to this spot, he was unable to call upon his usual methods. His feet ache in a way he’s not used to, his abilities are hidden so not to draw attention. But this is a forgotten spot, a place frequented years ago. Another lifetime ago. If he closes his eyes, he can see the shadows of ghosts from when he was a different person.

Lately, a permanent sort of weariness has settled into his bones. But when he tries to sleep, the river calls to him. It whispers in his mind, beckoning him to come back one last time. Today he finally decided to listen.

Sesshomaru has always appreciated solitude, but right now being alone causes a deep pain in his chest. Years of memories heal him like Tenseiga but slice him open like Bakusaiga.

He crawls to the water’s edge and stares at his reflection. A weathered, wrinkled face looks back, like the old woman who used to watch Rin when she was still just a child.

A soft smile graces his features. Rin. His friend. His family. Closer to him than even his own half-brother. In the beginning, she was more of an obligation. But her bright personality affected him. As she grew up, their relationship changed. He was still her protector, she still admired him the same when she did as a child. But when she became an adult, a layer of friendship was added. He no longer had to watch over her like a parent does a child. He’ll always consider her something akin to a daughter, but her friendship is something he has always treasured as well.

But she was not the only one. There was always Rin, and there was always Jaken. His loyal companion to the very end. He regrets the way their relationship started, he regrets the way he treated Jaken. In later years, he made sure Jaken knew that. In later times, he apologized. And Jaken accepted. Sesshomaru made sure they had many more happy memories to outnumber the bad ones.

Rin was the first to go. Such is the curse of being human. But she died a very old woman, surrounded by all the friends she made and all the lives she touched. Sesshomaru and Jaken mourned for a very long time.

Many years later, it was Jaken’s turn. Sesshomaru mourned alone and just as hard. For the first time in so long, he was completely alone. His only companion is the memory of them both.

These two creatures buried their way into his heart in a way he never would have expected. They changed him in a way his younger self would’ve scoffed at, but that his older self will hold dear forever. It’s been a very long time since their deaths. The world is different, Sesshomaru is different. But the love he carries for Rin and for Jaken remains the same.

The suns beams on him but the air is cool. Sesshomaru is glad he made this journey today. This area called to him so strongly and he understands why.

An old man lies down in the grass by a river. He closes his eyes, and he is finally reunited with his companions.


End file.
